A day on the Apache Trail

April 25, 2010 by taha 

I love when family and friends come to visit us here in beautiful Arizona!  It gives me the perfect excuse to do some more local sight seeing in my own backyard that I otherwise probably wouldn’t take the time to do.  Sound familiar?  Our latest “adventure” was taking a day to travel along the Apache Trail, one of my favorite scenic drives.   To begin this drive just head out on 60 East and take the Idaho Rd exit and follow the signs to Canyon Lake.

After a short drive down the Apache Trail, we started our day at Goldfield Ghost Town, the old mining town located right by the Lost Dutchman State Park.  We had a great time exploring the old town and taking lots of photos of the area.  Years ago, this little “ghost town” didn’t have much to offer, but it has since been rediscovered and tourists have been pouring in ever since.  As a result, it has gotten a little bit kitschy but it is still worth seeing especially with the kids!  I think we investigated every nook and cranny the town had.  We also spent a bit of money of some of the tours they offer there such as the mine tour.

The mine tour was a pleasant surprise. We learned quite a bit about how the miners spent their days and toiled under ground with only candle light to help them see.  Did you know that the miners were only given about 6 small candles on each shift to help them see what they were doing?  They would conserve their light by putting the candles out and eating their meals in the dark of the tunnels.  If I’m not mistaken, there are some restaurants that currently charge a pretty price for guests to eat in the dark now!  I guess the miners were on to something.

After our adventures at Goldfield, including a mock gunfight battle performed by volunteers, we hit the road again.  We drove towards Canyon Lake.  It is a gorgeous drive through interesting landscape with rock formations, plants, and animals not commonly seen in other parts of the valley.  We stopped at the Marina where Steamboat Dolly is docked.  We parked there and walked across the street to the Boulder Canyon Trail entrance.  We hiked up the trail to get some unbelievable views of the area.  We could see far into the Superstitions Wilderness and a good bit of Canyon Lake.  We saw some folks rafting up into one of the canyons that the larger boats cannot get into (add that to my list of things to do this summer!) and we saw plenty of collared lizards and a snake! 

After working up an appetite hiking, we got back in the car and continued down the Apache Trail.  Our destination was Tortilla Flats.  We made it just in time for dinner.  Even for a Saturday evening, the restaurant closes pretty early at 7:00pm so we felt fortunate to get in for last call (for food that is).  Tortilla Flats is best known for its decor of dollar bills covering every inch of space on the walls of the restaurant.  It is quite entertaining to read what people have written on the dollar bills and to see how old some of them are.  The food is pretty good too!  I will warn you though, if you plan to order the Nachos Grande, make sure you have someone to share them with!!

At Take A Hike Arizona, we love to share our experiences with our fans and we love to hear from you as well!  Tell us about some great adventures you have had whether it is here in the valley or in your hometown.  Just send us your experiences to info@takeahikearizona.com and we can share them with our readers as well!  Also, we offer great day hikes in the Superstitions area, described in this posting, during which our guides will show you some fantastic scenery and share many local legends and history with you along the way.  Just call us at 480-634-8488 to learn more about the excursions we offer!

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